« I do not know yet what the outcome of our possible exchanges will be in future, but the most important thing at present is to know that he is alive and that there is hope of communicating with him. »

The beneficiary on his first exchanges with his biological father.

Could you describe the context of this request addressed to ISS ?

Mr. Jean-Paul Dupuis* had contacted us in 2015 as he was searching for his biological father. His mother had broken the news that his legal father was not his biological father. He was 30 years old. He wished to trace him, but as discretely as possible, because he did not wish to cause him any hurt. Mr. Jean-Paul Dupuis had contacted ISS in order to be helped in this undertaking and having confidence in the search procedure. He wished to know if his father was still alive and to maybe meet him in person.

What constituted the mandate of ISS on behalf of Mr. Dupuis?

We have accompanied Mr. Dupuis in his undertaking of his search for his biological father. The intervention of ISS was of two-fold. Firstly, it was to contact the relevant service to provide useful information for the research.
Secondly, it was to provide a psychological and social support throughout the whole process to find his biological father.

What did you achieve ?

As a result of these different points of contact, notably between Mr. Dupuis and the cantonal Office of Population and Migration in the Canton of Geneva, we were able to identify and locate the biological father of Mr. Dupuis. We have thereafter organised an exchange of letters between them.Today, both men are in direct contact and are building up their relationship as father and son.